Meet New York Times Best Selling graphic novelist Johnnie Christmas

Hillsborough County, Fla. (Sept. 16, 2024) - Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative is hosting "An Evening With Johnnie Christmas," a special event with New York Times Best Selling graphic novelist Johnnie Christmas.

Bring your tween or teen ages 10+ to C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 6-7 p.m. to meet Christmas and learn about his latest book, "Gamerville."

The newly released graphic novel follows video gamer Max Lightning as his Gamerville championship aspirations are dashed when his parents send him to Camp Refresh, where electronics are forbidden and campers must socialize, eat healthy, and spend time outside. Can Max escape Camp Refresh and level up at Gamerville, or has he finally played his last match? "Gamerville" is a timely and vulnerable exploration of the importance of human connection and what it means to run in a pack.

Christmas' 2022 middle-grade graphic novel debut "SWIM TEAM" earned a spot on the National Book Awards longlist, a Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Honor, a Barnes & Noble Children's and YA Book Award nomination, and a Harvey Awards nomination.

Christmas is a graduate of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, earning a BFA in communication design/illustration. He calls Vancouver, British Columbia home, where he is hard at work on two new middle-grade graphic novels.

Who: Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative

What: "An Evening with Johnnie Christmas"

When: Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 6-7 p.m.

Where: C. Blythe Andrews Public Library, 2607 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Tampa, FL 33610

The event is free, and registration is not required. For more information about "An Evening with Johnnie Christmas," visit HCPLC.org.